MESA, Ariz. – Two weeks from the opening of “The Reckoning,” Theo Epstein’s big-picture vision for the 2019 season, the Cubs put an R&D analyst in a dunk tank and rolled out the $126 million pitcher who might be the key to the entire production.

Craig Kimbrel won’t be starring as this year’s Dexter Fowler, the free agent who shocked the baseball world when he showed up in Arizona and energized the 2016 World Series team. Epstein didn’t answer a specific question about Kimbrel during Thursday’s state-of-the-team media briefing in Mesa, and he didn’t have to, either.

For months, the Cubs have signaled, again and again and again, that they have limited financial flexibility within the annual budget given to baseball operations. Kimbrel – a seven-time All-Star closer with 333 career saves – isn’t a backup catcher, waiver-wire claim or Triple-A insurance policy.